Musele ("bird-headed" ceremonial knife)
Datelate 1800s or early 1900s
Mediumiron, brass, copper wire
Dimensions30.5 × 30.5 cm (12 × 12 in.), 13 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.99
DescriptionStylized bird's head blade with pierced triangular "eye," made of rather light metal, and blackened around and behind the eye; decorated on the inside face. There is finely hatched decoration along the front of the eye and from its base toward the tip of the beak. A chiseled or hammered diamond shape behind the eye is similarly etched. Similarly chiseled or hammered lines border the eye and radiate out from its lowest point, and similar lines also follow the curve of the back of the head.Grip wrapped with heavy copper wire, which also loops around a backward spur at the top of the grip. At the base of the grip is a conical pommel formed from brass sheet hammered and riveted into a cone.
Label TextThe musele belongs to a family of distinctively African blade weapons, lacking parallels elsewhere in the world. Each region of central Africa had its own distinctive versions, with various arrangements of beaks, hooks, and other projections, sometimes so elaborate that the weapon was only usable for ceremonial purposes. The musele was used in dance rituals, and some related weapons actually served in place of money.ProvenanceMilton R. MacIntosh collection (Cranston, RI) (#71) purchased by the Museum in December 1970. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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